


think you're dreamy.

by chosuiri



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: M/M, fellas is it gay (yes it is), flirting to lovers? haha, implied smut. just horny undertone all around, mentions of archer emiya but uh idk not important am i right, rarepairs per usual, whore activity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:47:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25523086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chosuiri/pseuds/chosuiri
Summary: Yan Qing was a little scared that Merlin would show him why hurricanes are named after people, but surprisingly… not?---Two chaotic forces meet, and you get... haha... couldn't be the pining. Unless?
Relationships: Merlin | Caster/ Yan Qing | Assassin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	think you're dreamy.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hotarumaru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotarumaru/gifts).



> man. this was a blast to write! this was written for my lovely friend xien!
> 
> buckle up this isn't much of a wild ride but this is probably my most chaotic writing yet. merlin and yan qing... cursed horny ship. just two whores hanging out.

It’s not a banging romantic first meeting, nor did Yan Qing even anticipate that it’ll end up as anything more. Either way, Yan Qing has eyes (beautiful and alluring!), and he knew a sexy man when he saw one. It’s not anything special, either, but it’s different from when he first met Lanling Wang. It’s the kind of handsome that slams you off your feet and you kind of lose the ability to breathe for a second. Ephemeral, maybe? Yan Qing was returning from a casual mission to his quarters, and in what is probably the most cliche manner, he literally bumped into Merlin. The meeting went a little like this:

> _“Daaaaamn.” Yan Qing whistles as he backs away, shooting an apologetic smile at whoever he bumped into. The man on the other side chuckles in return, and well… it strikes Yan Qing as something… well, attractive, for one. Cute, maybe. “My bad! Wasn’t watching where I was going--”_
> 
> _“Ahahahaha, I wasn’t either! My head was all up in the clouds!” The other man returns with a bright smile, “Oh? I haven’t seen you around before. Were you summoned here recently?”_
> 
> _Yan Qing scratches the back of his neck, nodding. It’s incredible at how quickly he was summoned to Chaldea after the Master resolved things in Shinjuku, and especially at how quick they were to forgive him for everything there. Well, it’s not like he’s a terrible servant. “Assassin of Shinjuku, if you know about that pseudo-singularity. I’m Yan Qing!”_
> 
> _The other salutes in kind and winks, “I’m Merlin! They call me the Magus of Flowers, but neither of us seems to be the stuffy type, so just call me Merlin. I’ll call you handsome.”_
> 
> _The compliment doesn’t fly by him, but rather, he takes it with great stride. “Ohh? You have a good eye!” He thumps his chest pridefully and grins._
> 
> _“I’ll see you around, Yan Qing.” He laughs, waving as he turns heel and heads in a different direction._
> 
> _Slightly rendered speechless by how damn charming the magus is, Yan Qing lets out a low whistle._

Either way, it’s starting to become a problem. An inconvenience, maybe? He’s not sure why the great magus-- someone amazing enough to be considered a Grand Caster-- would think of hanging around him, but he’d be damned if this guy wasn’t purposefully trying to run into him after they first met each other at Chaldea. 

So late-night drinking in one of the servants’ common rooms is no exception, it seems. 

“You’ve been poppin’ up everywhere, haven’t ya?” Yan Qing smirks slightly as he puts down his cup of sake. He reaches for another cup, sliding it closer to himself, and then grabbing the flask of sake and pouring some into the empty cup. He pushes it closer to the caster servant. “You like drinking too, right?”

Merlin hums, taking the offering of sake, bringing the cup to his lips. “I like having excellent company. If we have fun, then isn’t that even better?”

Yan Qing blinks and then grins wide as he takes a sip of his sake. “Good drink and good company. Seems like you get me, Merlin. This world is filled with plenty of things I like. Humanity may be rotten to the core sometimes, but… just moments like this make me appreciate being alive.” Perhaps more of that liquid courage caused him to loosen his lips more than usual. He turns to face the caster, cheeks red from the sake and awaiting his response.

Merlin parts his lips, bobbing his head lazily as he takes on a more grave tone than usual. It’s interesting to see more of his solemn side. “You’ve learned about how rotten humanity gets from the memories you have to deal with?”

Yan Qing’s smile drops, and he shuffles. “I experienced things in my life too, y’know? It’s like a lot of movies to remember or something, but… it kinda becomes a big mess. Those feelings aren’t transmitted, so it’s not like I know how they felt? Just… the memories. I have to figure it out from there.”

“Yan Qing,” Merlin begins with a resigned smile, “I am not human. As a result, seeing humanity’s decisions makes life interesting for me. I’ve had the pleasure of feasting on some delightful dreams, but… that’s the only way I have some semblance of understanding.”

Yan Qing briefly recalls the rumors he heard of the magus, one of them being that he is part-incubus, but not quite in the same vein as he’s heard about incubi before. Dream eater or something like that. Perhaps it’s because of him that his sleep has been relatively dream-less lately. Man, he’s thankful for that! The worst part about dreams is that they’re never real when he wakes up. “You don’t really understand, but you do at the same time? I’d say that’s just part of living.”

“Maybe so,” Merlin nods as he takes another sip of the sake, “Ahahaha! This sake really is delightful. I’ll admit that you’ve had some particularly tasty dreams.”

“Ehhhh? What do you mean by that?” Yan Qing exclaims, eyes widening as he stares at Merlin. “There’s a lot of… y’know… baggage in there. I wouldn’t peg them as tasty.”

“Hmm? Well, that’s just a secret for me,” Merlin smiles simply, draining his cup of sake. He lifts it in Yan Qing’s face. “Refill, please~!”

“Oh, so you’re the secretive type?” Yan Qing falls back into routine, letting the more serious words dissipate in the air as he pours him another cup. They continue to chat throughout the night, the topic never quite swerving back to the more serious one from before, but lingering in all their other conversations. It’s charming, but surprising at how much they have in common. 

They knock back a few flasks in the process, and Merlin decides it’s time for him to depart as soon as Yan Qing grows sleepy from all the alcohol. Yan Qing doesn’t remember the end of their encounter, but the next morning he found himself in his bed in his room.

Of course, he was unable to recall a single dream he had. 

* * *

Clearly, this isn’t going to do. He’s had it. They have to at least do SOMETHING together whether it means having a one night stand or actually having a thrilling romance. Either’s fine, really. One night of passion was better than this pretty man dangling himself in front of Yan Qing and continuing to play hard to get. It’s up to _him_ to make the moves.

Well, he needs a pep talk first.

“Lanling Waaaaaaang,” Yan Qing whines as he flops onto his friend’s bed, rolling around a little for good measure. The prince returns with some silent annoyance, but he doesn’t say much else. “What do I do?”

“What’s the problem?” The saber asks mildly, glancing over from the kettle he had going for the tea. “Actually, I’d like it if you weren’t all over my bed like that. You’ll mess it up.”

“Oops,” Yan Qing mumbles but doesn’t actually make an effort to move any of his limbs anywhere else. “Anyway. You know Merlin, right?”

Lanling Wang nods with obvious uncertainty, “The caster servant? Grand Caster at that?”

“Yeah, that dreamy one.” Yan Qing pauses, groaning again, “Liiike… this is bad. I am putting the moves on him. He is flirting back. Yet! We are still here.”

“Seems like you should try harder,” Lanling Wang returns lightly, eyes still mostly fixated on the kettle. “He might be messing with you on purpose, so be… straight with him?”

Yan Qing scoffs. “Huuh? Straight? That’s not going to help.” 

“I didn’t mean it in that way,” The saber sighs, “I mean… if you guys are basically dancing in circles around each other… then be direct?”

Yan Qing blinks, “Ehh? Like… I go up to him and say that we should have sex?”

Lanling Wang immediately tears his gaze from the kettle and shoots a nasty glare at the assassin with a completely red face. “Not that direct!”

“Then what? Geeeeez! You’re not making it any easier!” Yan Qing grumbles, starting to roll around as he pleases in his friend’s bed again. 

“I don’t know, turn on your charm and talk your way into it.” His friend sighs but beams once the kettle stops boiling. He transfers the boiling water into a teapot over chrysanthemum and places the lid back on. “Like you usually do?”

Yan Qing then sits up on the saber’s bed and then strokes his chin thoughtfully. He’s not really helpful, but maybe he has some of a point. He just has to hype himself up. “You’re right. Like usual! I’m sexy as hell. He can’t resist this sexy beast. Right?”

Lanling Wang rolls his eyes, and snaps back sarcastically, “yes, you’re sexy as hell. You can do this.”

“Thank you for your faith in me,” Yan Qing grin, sitting up slightly less sloppily on the bed. “Now we’ll just have to get this done. Anyway, how about that tea?”

“Give it another couple minutes,” Lanling Wang shakes his head and exhales as he glances back over at his friend. “I’m sure it’ll work out, Yan Qing. Even if not, it’ll be fine. Maybe just a little awkward, but it’s not like you guys are much in the same circles anyway?”

Yan Qing whistles, shrugging as he thinks over it a bit. Well, his prince of a friend makes a fair point. He either hangs out with the other outlaws or the other Chinese servants, anyway. Their paths haven’t crossed a lot until recently when they bumped into each other. Yet, they have quite a lot in common. He smiles slightly as he thinks about the conversations they shared, and how well they click with each other.

Man, this is sounding a little like a genuine connection happening there. Perhaps just physical intimacy will turn into something? He considers using alcohol, but realizes that Merlin can easily outdrink him-- either way, taking advantage of someone under the influence is pretty bad, right? He can’t do that. It wouldn’t be sexy.

Either way, they just gotta talk more. If that’s in the sheets or not, doesn’t matter. 

“Yan Qing?” Lanling Wang calls, shooting him a small reassuring smile as he does, “tea’s ready now.”

Yan Qing leaps up from the bed, walking over and grinning as he takes the teacup from his friend and takes a sip. “Nothing hits the spot like this…”

“Of course,” Lanling Wang returns, taking a sip from his own cup, “I know you can do it.”

“Right, I can always laugh it off and pretend I was joking if it doesn’t work out!” Yan Qing nods in agreement and declares with an unsettling determination.

“That’s not what I meant…” Lanling Wang sighs but takes comfort in drinking his tea.

* * *

Unfortunately for Yan Qing, their next several encounters are brief as hell. Merlin says hi to him, flirts with him for a second, and then leaves. Since he’s a “busy” man. Fuck popular servants for real. Especially the sexy ones that everyone wants a piece of.

So yes, Yan Qing is pouting as he manspreads on the chair. He’s by himself at the table, but sitting in front of his mapo tofu. Suddenly, he regrets ordering this. He can handle spicy food just fine, of course, but now he’s just not plain in the mood for mapo tofu. He prods at it with chopsticks, before sighing and spooning it over his rice. 

“Want to trade?” Merlin appears in front of him as fast as their past encounters, causing Yan Qing to stir up from his seat and point harshly at the floofy mage.

“Oi, oi! Are ya gonna fly away after we trade?” Yan Qing exclaims, but then meekly reverts and pushes the bowl and plate of mapo tofu toward Merlin, “but… yes. Not in the mood for the tofu today.”

Merlin shrugs, “Maybe so, maybe not? If you ask of me, I’ll stay right here, though.” He beams, pulling out the chair to recline in it. He places his own meal from the chefs, which was a plate of omurice.

“Then stay,” Yan Qing grins, emerald eyes sparkling and glinting at the omurice. He eagerly trades lunches with Merlin, beaming as he starts to dig into his meal. “Soooo…”

“Something seems to be on your mind,” Merlin brings up first, that same dazed expression on his face as he speaks. He chuckles, simply watching Yan Qing as he eats. “You don’t have to tell me, but… it’ll help us both.”

“Mmm, well. I’m just happy to be talking to ya,” Yan Qing admits honestly, “awfully convenient for ya to have just the solution for my mapo tofu situation.”

Merlin laughs, “I’m happy to help. Call it my senses… I like to see your reactions! The thrill you have at eating something delicious--”

Yan Qing blinks, finding Merlin’s phrasing a bit strange. Then it clicks in his head that it’s probably related to Merlin’s weird human spirit eating since, well, he does that? “Oh, so this is your meal, huh?”

“The human spirit, yes.” Merlin hums idly as he also starts poking at Yan Qing’s meal, “I don’t exactly get my energy like humans do… haha, servants don’t quite need food if they are supplied with magic energy, right?”

“Food’s still good as hell though,” Yan Qing quips as he shovels more of the omurice in his mouth. He hums out of delight as he does, and glances over at Merlin. “Actually… are ya any good with spicy food?”

“Haha. I’m not sure. Let’s try it out.” Merlin laughs, grabbing hold of a spoon and putting it in his mouth. At first, his face and overall appearance stay the same, but in a matter of seconds, he starts sweating and his face looks visibly redder. He scrambles slightly, and grabs Yan Qing’s glass of water and downs it.

Yan Qing snorts, not mad at all that Merlin drank all his water. He crosses his arms triumphantly, “Well, looks like you can’t handle spicy food! Charming!”

Merlin coughs and sputters, but soon regains his composure. “M-My… certainly not. I don’t usually stomach food anyway, haha.”

Yan Qing knows this is probably really shitty timing, but uh, thirst and horniness don’t stop anyone-- especially not him. “Do you prefer human meals?”

“Pardon--?” Merlin blinks.

“Like,” Yan Qing coughs, “a snack like me. You can feast on me--”

Merlin chuckles, pushing aside the food to reach over the table, grabbing hold of Yan Qing by the chin and stroking his cheek. “That’s the most interesting invitation I’ve ever received.”

“Is that a yes?” Yan Qing asks breathlessly and tries to awkwardly wink. 

Ignoring the stares of the other servants in the dining room, especially from Emiya eyeing them with a disgusted expression, Merlin grins and kisses him straight on the lips. It’s a nice kiss, Yan Qing thinks, and he’s so distracted that he doesn’t realize how swiftly it ends. 

Merlin pulls away, and winks, “Then I’ll pay you a personal visit. I’m sure you’re just as delicious as your dreams.”

_Niiiiiiiiiiice._

Merlin then takes his leave after that, leaving Yan Qing to dream to himself as he shovels more of the omurice into his mouth.

Emiya seems to be glaring at him still. _Jealous? Mad that I get more dick than you?_ Yan Qing almost wants to say, but simply keeps his mouth shut.

* * *

Somehow Yan Qing was a little scared that Merlin would show him why hurricanes are named after people, but surprisingly… not? He wakes up with Merlin cuddling into him. It’s kind of nice. Fondness grows in his heart as he gazes at the caster-- something about him makes Yan Qing want to fall back asleep. 

Well, the night had been pretty wild… Yan Qing grins to himself before closing his eyes to let himself sleep in a little more. He's sure they'll do this again, and continue to... friends, lovers, neither quite matter to him yet.

Haha... unless?

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nobleflamme).


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